Damián Ariel Escudero (born 20 April 1987) is a former Argentine professional footballer who played as a midfielder. A well-travelled professional, Escudero played for a number of clubs in Argentina, Spain, Mexico and Brazil after starting out at Vélez Sarsfield. He was a youth international for Argentina.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Damián Ariel Escudero[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 20 April 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Rosario, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Vélez Sarsfield | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2008 | Vélez Sarsfield | 84 | (18) |
| 2008–2010 | Villarreal | 13 | (1) |
| 2008–2009 | → Valladolid (loan) | 15 | (0) |
| 2010–2013 | Boca Juniors | 13 | (0) |
| 2011 | → Grêmio (loan) | 31 | (4) |
| 2012 | → Atlético Mineiro (loan) | 27 | (4) |
| 2013 | → Vitória (loan) | 27 | (2) |
| 2014–2015 | Vitória | 37 | (11) |
| 2016 | Puebla | 27 | (3) |
| 2017–2018 | Vasco da Gama | 7 | (0) |
| 2019 | Cuiabá | 13 | (1) |
| International career | |||
| 2007 | Argentina U20 | 3 | (1) |
| 2008 | Argentina U23 | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 November 2019 | |||
Club career
editEscudero was born in Rosario, Santa Fe. A product of Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield's youth system, he made his first-team debut in a 0–1 away defeat against Newell's Old Boys on 4 March 2006. He found himself at the centre of a controversy at the end of the year, when the club refused to release him and Mauro Zárate for the 2007 South American U-20 Championship.[2]
When the 2007 edition of the Copa Libertadores started, Escudero was already a dynamic part in the team's attacking movements. He helped Vélez reach the round-of-16 in the tournament, scoring four goals.[3][4][5]
Escudero had an irregular 2007–08 season, during which his team failed to qualify for the Copa Sudamericana. However, he did net three times in the Clausura, including once against Boca Juniors.
For 2008–09, Escudero was bought by Spanish La Liga side Villarreal CF in a US$12,000,000 move.[6] He was quickly loaned to Real Valladolid because his club's non-EU quota was already full,[7][8] appearing rarely throughout the campaign due to injury.[9]
Escudero returned to Villarreal for 2009–10, but continued to be barred by the likes of Robert Pires and Santi Cazorla. Most of his appearances were due to injury problems to the latter, and he scored against Xerez CD on 14 March 2010 (2–0 home win) after only playing six minutes in the game.[10]
In June 2010, Escudero was sold to Boca Juniors, with Villarreal retaining 50% of the player's rights.[11] The following year he was loaned to Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense[12] and performed solidly but, after the two clubs could not agree on a transfer fee for another loan, he returned to Buenos Aires.[13]
In January 2012, Escudero returned to Brazil signing a one-year contract with Clube Atlético Mineiro, who paid Boca US$700.000.[14] Apart from a one-year spell in the Mexican Liga MX with Puebla F.C.[15] he continued to play in the country in the following years, with Esporte Clube Vitória,[16] CR Vasco da Gama[17] and Cuiabá Esporte Clube.[18]
International career
editIn 2007, Escudero was selected in the Argentina under-20 squad to compete in the FIFA World Cup in Canada, but hardly played due to injury. The following year, he first played for the Olympic side against Guatemala in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics, appearing as a left back in the 5–0 rout.[19]
Personal life
editEscudero was often nicknamed Pichi, the same used by his father Osvaldo who was also a football player.[20]
Honours
editClub
editAtlético Mineiro
Vitória
Cuiabá
International
editArgentina
References
edit- ^ "FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007 – List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 5 July 2007. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 December 2013.
- ^ "El Sub 20 de Tocalli ya se instaló en su búnker de Ciudad del Este" [Tocalli's Under 20s have already moved to their bunker of Ciudad del Este] (in Spanish). La Nación. 5 January 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
- ^ "Vélez festejó una goleada que le sirvió para recuperar la imagen" [Vélez celebrated rout that was good for image overhaul] (in Spanish). La Nación. 15 March 2007. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ "Pérez fica a dois gols de Cabañas na artilharia da Libertadores" [Pérez is now two goals from Cabañas in Libertadores scoring charts] (in Portuguese). Universo Online. 1 June 2007. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ "O que o Vasco pode esperar de Damián Escudero?" [What can Vasco expect from Damián Escudero?] (in Portuguese). Correio Braziliense. 26 December 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ Escudero, encantado de recalar en el Villarreal (Escudero, delighted to have joined Villarreal); Marca, 4 July 2008 (in Spanish)
- ^ Escudero llega cedido para potenciar el ataque (Escudero arrives on loan to strengthen offense); Diario AS, 12 July 2008 (in Spanish)
- ^ Mientras tramita los papeles... (Paperwork pending...); ESPN Deportes, 5 July 2008 (in Spanish)
- ^ Escudero: "Tengo muchas ganas de volver a jugar" (Escudero: "I want to play again so badly"); Marca, 9 September 2009 (in Spanish)
- ^ El Villarreal perdona primero la goleada y termina sufriendo frente al Xerez (2–0) (Villarreal start by forgiving rout then end suffering against Xerez (2–0)); El Mundo, 14 March 2010 (in Spanish)
- ^ El argentino Escudero vuelve a casa: Ficha por Boca Juniors (Argentine Escudero returns home: Signs for Boca Juniors); Marca, 22 June 2010 (in Spanish)
- ^ "Escudero chega a Porto Alegre para representar a 'alma castelhana'" [Escudero arrives to Porto Alegre to represent the 'Castilian soul'] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 6 February 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
- ^ "Valor pedido pelo Boca Juniors faz Grêmio desistir da renovação com Escudero" [Fee requested by Boca Juniors makes Grêmio deciding against renewing Escudero] (in Portuguese). Universo Online. 24 December 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
- ^ "Escudero acerta com o Atlético-MG" [Escudero agrees with Atlético-MG] (in Portuguese). Extra. 9 January 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
- ^ "El argentino Escudero dice que Puebla va por grandes objetivos en el 2016" [Argentine Escudero says Puebla is thinking big in 2016] (in Spanish). EFE. 7 January 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
- ^ "Sem jogar desde 2017, Escudero volta ao Vitória para período de avaliações" [Without playing since 2017, Escudero returns to Vitória for trial period] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 21 February 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
- ^ "Damián Escudero é apresentado pelo Vasco e deixa status de 'presente de Natal' com a diretoria" [Damián Escudero is presented by Vasco and leaves 'Christmas gift' status to board of directors] (in Portuguese). Fox Sports. 7 January 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
- ^ "Esperado no Vitória, Escudero assina contrato com outro time da série B" [Expected at Vitória, Escudero signs contract with another Série B team] (in Portuguese). Bahia.ba. 7 April 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
- ^ 5–0. Argentina golea a Guatemala con el mínimo esfuerzo (5–0. Argentina rout Guatemala without a sweat); Terra, 7 February 2008 (in Spanish)
- ^ Giovani, Adrián, Escudero, Borges, Bradley, en el nombre del padre (Giovani, Adrián, Escudero, Borges, Bradley, in the name of the father); La Nación, 3 July 2007 (in Spanish)
- ^ "Em carta, Escudero se despede do Leão e confirma que não fica em 2016" [In a letter, Escudero says goodbye to Lion and confirms he will not remain for 2016] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 23 December 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
- ^ "Todos los planteles argentinos campeones del mundo Sub-20" [All the Argentine Under-20 World champion squads] (in Spanish). Torneos y Competencias. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
External links
edit- Argentine League statistics[usurped] (in Spanish)
- Statistics at Irish Times at archive.today (archived 26 January 2013)
- Damián Escudero at BDFutbol
- Damián Escudero – FIFA competition record (archived)
- Damián Escudero at Soccerway